Dear all,
I am nervous but thrilled to announce that in less than 48hrs, on 1st January 2023, I will be launching Diaries of Note.
Every day at 1pm (GMT), beginning on Sunday, a new (old) diary entry will be published, written on the same day and month of a year gone by. Importantly, every single diarist will be different—nobody will appear twice—which means that by 31st December 2023 you will have been transported back in time by 365 people. In January alone, for example, you will read journal entries from the likes of Katherine Mansfield, Andre Gide, Keith Richards, Beatrix Potter, MC Escher, and 26 others. Some will already be known to you; others you will be meeting for the first time. Some entries will be no longer than a few words; others will need a little more of your attention.
I can’t remember being this excited about a project. The idea has been percolating for years, and having thought about the value of diaries often during lockdown, I realised at the beginning of 2022 that I was finally able to dedicate the time necessary to do it properly. So that’s what I did, and here we are. The whole year has been carefully plotted: a single diary entry each day, all arranged (quasi-)chronologically. Permission has been sought to use those that are in copyright. We’re ready to go.
Diaries of Note will be a daily blog. But there will also be a daily newsletter in which I send these entries straight to your inbox. It’s all free. Head there now to sign up, or just hang on until Sunday when you can take a look at the first entry. It was written on 1st January 1863.
Excitedly,
Shaun
P. S. The Letters of Note newsletter will continue. Nothing will change.
Diaries of Note
Love this idea already (without reading a single sentence!) Thanks for the little snippets into the minds of so many interesting people :)
This is a great project. I look forward with interest!